Eagles-Cowboys Film Review: Offensive takeaways
NFC East Champions! What a fantastic season. Happy New Year, all! Let’s start 2025 with a breakdown of a Philadelphia Eagles win over the Dallas Cowboys.
Offense
The Eagles have run Crash (a short in route and a deep out route) so often that I think my brain calls everything a variation of Crash now. This one is probably known as ‘Double China 7’ by those of you who have played Madden, but I still see it as a variation of Crash! Kenny Pickett had a pretty good game when he played in time, and he does a good job stepping up in the pocket and hitting a wide-open DeVonta Smith here. This is a great play against man coverage because the cornerback covering the inside receiver will have to play with inside leverage, which gives the receiver a lot of open space to run into the corner.
My biggest takeaway from the offensive performance was the pass protection against the blitz. It was outstanding. The offensive line was great, but Kenny Gainwell and Saquon Barkley were huge parts of pass protection this week. The Cowboys send 6 here and run a stunt upfront, and Gainwell and Jurgens do a fantastic job distributing the two rushers and keeping Kenny Pickett clean. Gainwell has improved a lot in pass protection, and I think he’s been a very underrated running back two this year. He doesn’t get a lot of love online, so shout out to Kenny G.
Eagles Offense All22 thread vs. Cowboys. 1) How much success have the Eagles had the past 2 years running variations of Crash? The Eagles run it here with 2 in routes and a deep out route that turns into a corner based on the leverage of the cornerback. The pass protection vs… pic.twitter.com/4n4eLF5xu5
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) December 31, 2024
Most normal people: WOW! What an unbelievable throw and catch by Kenny Pickett and Grant Calcaterra.
Me, a giant football nerd: WOW! What an unbelievable blitz pickup by the Eagles. Why on earth is Pickett bailing from this pocket?
I am kidding, of course, but what else can I really say about the throw and catch? It’s pretty obvious for everyone to see. It’s a fantastic play! But this pass protection is what stands out. The Cowboys show blitz to the Eagles’ right-hand side but send pressure from the left. The Eagles do not even blink. Saquon sees this early and meets the linebacker early. Usually, you would be happy if your running back could slow down a linebacker for a second or two, but not with Saquon Barkley. He stops the linebacker in his tracks and forces him to give up his rush. I think this is a good blitz from the Cowboys, and it’s well-disguised, so this is a very impressive blitz pickup by the Eagles. Good stuff.
2) Lol, I don’t really know what to say about the throw and catch. It’s a ridiculous play by Calcaterra. However, the really awesome thing here is the Eagles pass protection once again. Barkley does a fantastic job. What a complete back he is. pic.twitter.com/LdeJgkJL7j
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) December 31, 2024
Speaking of the offensive line looking good, just take a look at this rep of outside zone! It can’t get better. I recommend you watch this play 5 times and watch every single offensive lineman. Every single one dominates. My goodness. The running game wasn’t electric at the start, but it improved as the game went on (as it usually does). Barkley has been phenomenal this year, but it will be a team effort if he breaks the rushing record. This offensive line deserves a lot of credit. I want to give a particular shout-out to Cam Jurgens, who had some extraordinary blocks in space in this one. It seems incredible to say that the Eagles haven’t missed Jason Kelce very much, but it’s the truth. Jurgens has been fantastic.
3) Just watch the Eagles 5 offensive lineman here. Can you block this any better? All 5 of them look fantastic. It turns out having an outstanding OL and an elite running back leads to a good running game… pic.twitter.com/djcxo4SuXW
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) December 31, 2024
Tanner McKee read the Eagles’ offensive manual. When you get single-high coverage, you throw it deep to your superstars! I have no idea why the hell the Cowboys are calling this coverage at the end of the half, but the Eagles took advantage. DeVonta Smith is a crafty route runner and does a great job attacking the cornerback’s blind spot here before getting vertical quickly. The only shame here is that he doesn’t score!
4) Single-high, let it fly baby. DeVonta Smith is a fantastic route runner. He gets into the cornerbacks blind spot here and gets upfield when the corner is expecting an out route. Playing one-on-one coverage on the outside against this team is a risk. pic.twitter.com/sCxLzzeVrP
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) December 31, 2024
Can anyone remember what I wrote last week?
Pickett’s biggest issue is that he thinks he is more mobile than he is. He needs to become a pocket passer who gets the ball out on time every snap. However, he tries to create out of structure too often.
The guy thinks he is Pat Mahomes! He makes an incredible play here, but it’s almost too good. He puts himself in harm’s way when making this throw. It’s an amazing throw, and it’s a shame it doesn’t count, but jumping into an ongoing rusher will guarantee that a big shot will be taken. I don’t want to be critical of a positive play, but Pickett has played 2 games, and he’s been injured in both. You don’t want a backup quarterback who gets injured. He needs to find a balance between creating and staying in the game.
5) Ah man, this play just sums up Pickett. It’s an absurd play but he puts himself in harms way and gets hit hard whilst competing an insane throw. I just wish Pickett would play in time more often, but I think he believes he can do this on every play! It’s a shame it didn’t even… pic.twitter.com/RuYpc00xbp
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) December 31, 2024
A Kellen Moore staple. We saw an amazing rep of Duo last week from Saquon, and we got another one this week! Just look at how well he runs this. He tries to follow his blocks but quickly realizes that the first opening is covered, so he effortlessly shifts to his right before realizing that 25 has covered that lane, so he bounces it outside DeVonta Smith and accelerates past the defenders. He makes this look so easy. He never stops his feet. He is always moving forward and pressing the line of scrimmage. He’s phenomenal.
6) Under center duo. A Kellen Moore favourite! The blend between the Moore & Stoutland run game has been awesome to watch this year. Saquon reads this so so well. He has elite vision as well as elite athleticism. What a fantastic run. pic.twitter.com/KaESE2Pba4
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) December 31, 2024
This is an awesome design. The Eagles line up Grant Calcaterra in the backfield and Kenny Gainwell out wide next to AJ Brown. The Cowboys cover Gainwell with a linebacker and have a cornerback right in front of AJ Brown. This gives the Eagles a pretty good idea that this will be man coverage on that side of the field. It’s hard to disguise too much when you have a linebacker out wide. Tanner McKee recognizes this pre-snap and throws a perfect back-shoulder ball to AJ Brown.
Can we just speak about how easy AJ Brown makes this catch look? Could he look any more casual? This play has an ounce of arrogance to it that I love. It’s like he’s pitying the guy who’s covering him. He makes this look incredibly easy.
7) We haven’t seen this look much. Calcaterra in the backfield & Gainwell outwide (covered by a linebacker) which signals man coverage to that side. All-pro HOF QB Tanner McKee reads it well and throws a lovely back shoulder throw to AJ Brown who makes this catch look so so easy. pic.twitter.com/aB1wNlWAW4
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) December 31, 2024
Mr 2k! It’s fitting that the run came on Counter, which is by far the Eagles’ best running play. I’ve written about Counter numerous times this year. It’s also pretty cool that it came on a play where the Eagles’ 2 pullers were Tyler Steen and EJ Jenkins (I may have been generous in calling this an outstanding block from EJ Jenkins, but come on, look at Tyler Steen!). I’ve gone on about how good I think Saquon is too much this year. Just look at him on this run, though. I will remember this rushing season for a long time, regardless of whether he gets the record. I’ve enjoyed watching him so much this year.
8) Here’s the 2k run! It’s fitting it came on Counter (the Eagles best run) with outstanding blocks from 2 backups in Tyler Steen & EJ Jenkins. What a well coached offense this is in the run game. I can’t express how much I enjoy watching Barkley. The patience before exploding… pic.twitter.com/xYJwNtzxbE
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) December 31, 2024
Let’s end here. Firstly, the touchdown comes on Crash! I’ll break down this concept later in the week. Secondly, look at the Eagles’ pass protection against the blitz. Kellen Moore has done an outstanding job turning this team into a great offense against the blitz. The most significant change he has made this year is that the Eagles always want enough players in protection to deal with any oncoming rushers. You can see this here. There is a possibility that the Cowboys will send 6, so the Eagles leave the running back into block. Sometimes, this means you will sacrifice a player in your route concept, but the Eagles think this is worth it to ensure that the quarterback never has to deal with a free rusher. This is the exact opposite of the philosophy the offense took last year. I wrote about how I thought Kellen Moore would improve the Eagles play against the blitz in the off-season..
Moore’s offenses were not afraid to leave backs and tight ends into block if needed. The key is giving the quarterback just enough time, which means no free rushers!
I am not surprised by how good the Eagles have been against the blitz this year because I knew Kellen Moore would improve it. It wasn’t a quarterback issue last year. It was a scheme issue. Moore has fixed that issue.
9) The Eagles have gone from the worst team in the NFL against the blitz in 2023 to a team that excels against it. This is Crash once again. It’s so easy. The OL wins their one-on-one matchups and they give McKee the time needed to complete the short route. DeVonta does the rest! pic.twitter.com/i8eh6jZ77X
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) December 31, 2024
Thank you for reading! I’d love to hear your thoughts, so feel free to comment below and ask any questions. If you enjoyed this piece, you can find more of my work and podcast here.
